Creating Pathways into Service Design: Our Apprenticeship Story at TCS
​​
​
Project Type: Recruitment and Management
Project by: Senior Service Designer, Jessica Ann Veno, Lead Service Designer, India Roche, Talent and Development colleagues and our Director of Young People’s Services.
​
Timeline: Creating the role opportunity May-September 2024, Recruitment October-November 2024, Onboarding and settling into the role January 2025 - ongoing
In January 2025, Tatenda joined The Children’s Society as our first Service Design Apprentice, enrolled on the Level 6 Service Design Apprenticeship delivered by our apprenticeship provider JGA. Her apprenticeship runs until summer 2026, with her contract extended to October 2027 to allow her to embed her learning in real-world projects as a Junior Service Designer.
​
Junior roles in service design are rare, particularly in the charity sector. As an organisation committed to putting young people at the heart of our work, we saw this as a milestone for our team and a meaningful way to offer an alternative route into education and employment. This approach reflects our values as a charity for young people and supports our ambition to diversify entry points into the design profession.
Process
Designing an Accessible Recruitment Experience
​
Our goal was to make the recruitment process as young person friendly as possible, aligning with our design principles around equity and power dynamics, and meeting organisational EDI requirements.
One challenge was the requirement for anonymised applications, which meant we couldn’t accept video or voice notes. To adapt, we promoted the opportunity using visual media instead of text heavy job advertisements and clearly communicated that the second stage would be an in-person assessment centre.The assessment centre would focus on creative and collaborative tasks, allowing candidates to demonstrate their skills in a more inclusive and less intimidating environment than a traditional interview.
​Balancing EDI, Funding Constraints, and Accessibility
Funding constraints meant the successful candidate had to live in Greater Manchester, while the hiring manager (myself) was based in London. Although this limited the applicant pool, it also allowed us to offer a design opportunity outside of London.
We secured budget for twice-monthly travel between Manchester and London to ensure Tatenda received face-to-face support, especially during onboarding. We also communicated the three-year commitment clearly, recognising that this could feel like a big decision for young applicants. To make the role more appealing, we highlighted opportunities to collaborate across disciplines, Digital (UX/UI), Policy and Research, and Storytelling.
Assessment Centre
​
Together with our Talent and Development colleagues, we hosted a creative assessment centre in our Manchester office. It included:
​
-
Team Challenge: Candidates worked together to solve a design challenge, demonstrating collaboration, listening, and problem-solving.
-
Creative Challenge: Each candidate designed their own country using storytelling or visual methods. This assessed creativity and how they brought their personality into the task.
-
Short Interviews: 20-minute interviews with 4–5 questions, with flexibility for note-taking and extra time if needed.
Five colleagues facilitated the activities in rotation, with breaks and lunch to ensure a supportive experience. A secondary aim was to honour candidates’ time and effort, making the day enjoyable and ensuring everyone received verbal and written feedback.
Feedback from the day confirmed the success of this approach, with many saying it “took the nerves away” and that it was a fun day “even though I didn’t get the job”
My Role
​
​​
-
Liaising with internal and external stakeholders to create the apprenticeship opportunity within TCS’s Service Design Team
​ -
Working closely with our Talent and Development teams to co-design an accessible job description using visuals and inclusive language
-
Leading the recruitment process alongside my manager, India Roche and creating and hosting the assessment centre in Manchester
-
Sharing the opportunity and explaining the commitments at forums and event
-
Providing robust verbal and written feedback to every candidate who attended the assessment centre
-
Preparing myself to be an apprentice’s manager by enrolling in manager training and starting my own Level 5 apprenticeship in Leadership and Management
Key Learnings
​
-
Creating a junior role in service design has been incredibly rewarding. It’s a privilege to work in an organisation that wants to give young people a real opportunity to enter the world of work, especially in creativity and design.
-
Designing visuals and using accessible language for the job description with a child- and young person-led lens is something I’ll carry forward in future recruitment. It opens doors and makes roles more desirable.
-
It was disappointing not to offer voice or video applications due to anonymity rules. Next time, I’ll work with our Talent and Development team to explore creative alternatives that still meet policy requirements.
-
The assessment centre format gave candidates multiple ways to show their skills and personality. I’ve since used this approach for other roles, and it’s proven effective in understanding who you’re really recruiting.
-
Providing robust feedback should always be part of recruitment. It respects candidates’ time and effort and reflects a commitment to equity and inclusion, not just in words, but in practice.
-
Having a service design apprentice has been a huge asset. It’s made us more intentional in how we set up and run projects, and it’s added learning opportunities for more senior designers in our day-to-day work